Anyone else starting a Beachbody workout programme? (T25, insanity etc)

[yumyumpoppycat]

Ok so my Focus T25 box has arrived today! Costs a lot but it has 11 25 minute work outs and some stretchy exercise band things. Idea is that because I have spent a lot I will have to knuckle down and see it through for the next 2 months.

I will probably try it over the weekend and start properly on mon. I am 3 stone overweight so this is going to be a mega challenge! Has anyone else recently started something similar or a new workout dvd and want to help motivate each other?

Hello again

Just found this online about knee issues.

Any thoughts? Asking here as you all seem to be aware of various beachbody program's. Thanks again for any advice or suggestions.

Newbie - that article seems sensible. The reason yoga helps is it sorts muscle imbalances. I think my bad knees were problems with muscles in my bum being weak and then my pelvis not being level. it improved v gradually and then I realised that after 3 or 4 mths of running regularly I had no knee pain when previously I would have been injured on that volume of training.
Speed 2.0 (yay my fave!) done this am and rest tomorrow.

newbie I posted a bit upthread about the same issue as you. I'm seeing a physio on Monday about my knee (after reading the thing you linked to) and I'm going to ask him about this- I'm in a slightly different situation in that I have had a operation on my knee, but that was meant to have made it all better!

I had a look at the various videos of the workouts too. I am thinking that PiYO looks too hard on my knee, but T25 or P90x looks ok. I think that in order to help the knees you (we) do need to build the muscle up. My muscle has wasted away (or changed to fat) in the few months that I've been out of action.

I completely understand how you feel though - I'm completely turning to flab and just need to do some exercise for my physical and mental wellbeing. Having said that I did a davina 7 minute workout on Wednesday night and could barely walk yesterday. Like you, I get sharp bursts of pain in my knee that are so painful they make me cry out.

Sorry to derail the thread everyone - I am very envious of all of you and can't wait to be able to try out one of these workouts!

Thanks Purple. I thought it sounded sensible too, but I,m a bit gullible so good to get a second opinion.

Beattie, sending you some hugs. My GP referred me for physio years ago as my knees were 'crunchy' esp when walking up stairs. I waited ages for an appt and at the single session I had I was told to go away and there was nothing to be done and it was just one of those things. I do get a bit down when I think that I have tried stuff and gone for advice, but haven't really ever got anywhere. Good luck with your physio appt. really hope they are able to suggest something.

I have a friend, who actually has the tai cheng DVDs. She bought them but hasn't really used them so I'm going to borrow them and will give them a go. Thanks to this thread, I mentioned beach body to her and she said she had that one, but has been so busy with work that she has only done a few days of it.

The article also suggests that tai cheng might be a good start too, so RESULT!

Fingers crossed and thanks again for all your help.

Wow! Busy thread! That's awesome! Well done everyone.

Rest day today. Yesterday my head was pounding and my knee and shins were hurting, so I did the T25 stretch DVD followed by 20 mins of my pilates DVD - legs and abs. It really burned so I was pleased I was still getting some work in!

I can do the lunge holds in Lower Focus but they burn like crazy. My tip is to try sucking a sweet (eg tic tac) while you do them. Sounds crazy but it works! I got the idea after seeing a thread on MN about teething powders etc for babies, and people were saying it's just the sugar in them that makes the pain ease!

Finished first week of month 2 Insanity. I do find this second month tough. Many times I entertain the thought of packing it in but I keep going.

Keep going everyone.

Hi everyone

Newbie, all this talk of knees has made me realise that my right knee and hip used to really hurt when I first started but it is ages now since I even thought about them so I hope you can find something that allows you to build up the muscles in your knees without causing you too much pain!

Jacksterbear - great tip about sucking a mint during lunge holds! They have become the thing I am determined to nail. Spider push-up things are just never gonna happen!

Sleepyjean69 - welcome! I went to see Jillian Michaels on tour and she said that the overweight person that you used to be is a hero because they were the one who started to exercise and diet etc. so I know it is cheesy but I look at pictures of myself that started me off (leggings!) and I think "good for you, you did it!" So don't be too hard on yourself. Lol, don't worry I am not usually so American-cheese! I don't ache on T25 either compared to Jillian Michaels but I think it is a great workout.

T25 alpha speed last night. Nailed it, especially those stretches .

Sleepy like you, I am also amazed at how little I have ached since starting this. I am a reasonably fit person and have always exercised but T25 is definitely pushing me beyond my comfort zone but has not resulted in any muscle ache. I can only assume that it is very carefully programmed to be effective but to not result in muscle soreness (that is just my layperson's view )

I ended up having an impromptu rest day yesterday - was supposed to do TBC but got home late from work and me and DH couldn't really both fit it in (that is the one we can't do together as our lounge isn't big enough) so neither of us ended up doing it So, I am going to do yesterday's TBC workout tonight, today's tomorrow and then stretch on Sunday and back on programme on Monday.

However, I am thinking that I am going to switch the programme round anyway as it is easier to find the time to do the workouts on a weekend generally so I may have a night off during the week and do my double workout (if I do it) on a Saturday - don't suppose it will make any difference will it?

I set myself little targets to aim for with the T25 workouts (mainly TBS as the others I am reasonably ok with) so initially it was to complete the full lunge set in Lower Focus without stopping and do all the burpees in TBC properly which I am now doing. My new aims are to do all the shoulder taps at the start of TBC on my feet and not my knees (although I still need to do pushups on my knees), complete the full set of pike-ups and not collapse in a heap on the floor halfway through the mountain climbers (think he calls them floor runs or something??).

Sarahlouboo, ooooh a life without knee pain would be bliss. Really good to hear that working out has rally helped stop that for you.

Did you notice your knee/hip pain get worse when you first started? I think of I know the pain with get better with time, I can bear that. I think when I get the sudden sharp pain it is so painful that I actually feel so tentative about it happening at all that I'm sure I get tense at the prospect, if that makes sense. Having that crap personal trainer experience, has left me feeling a bit defeated, so it's really good to have found this thread and hear that people have noticed improvement with pain and that it is possible to get fit despite knee problems. Having hope is good I think!

Just done TBC - didn't enjoy it tonight thought I had turned a corner last time I did it but clearly that was a blip!

I have to do it 3 times next week [groan]

Newbie - I would say that my knee pain was not as severe as yours but it was crunchy and did ache like buggery after doing lots of lunges but now nothing! I guess if you can find something that is tolerable but safe then it might take a while but you will start to notice a difference. Sorry - did you say you had been for physio at all?

TBC done and I nailed it tonight (apart from ridiculous oblique knee press ups) but I did have a couple of mini breaks tending to DC's tea! Gonna try and do back to back tomorrow before boozy day out. Happy weekend everyone.

Thanks Sarah. I think you're right. It has to be a case of finding the right thing to help strengthen my knees. I have had physio, one appt, and they just said my knees were crunchy and there was nothing to do to fix it. I think the crunchy knees has lead to the painful knees, as they didn't hurt when they crunched, but lunges and squats were always tricky.

So pleased that you've found something that worked for you.

Good work sleepy! It's great to see results so quickly

Did rip'd circuit this am. Managed it all except the 4 count push ups where I can stay on my toes but need to come out of them into a pike position to rest after each one. Must nail them by the time I finish beta.

Re knees and lunges I had some pain this am then Sean t said to lift your toes on the front foot and that stopped the pain so I think maybe my form wasn't right.
Am a bit frustrated re my weight. I'm now a size 10 (just!) but put my weight into bmi calculator and it says I'm still pverweight. Grr. Felt really pleased when I saw the scales this am as I'm now only 2kg above my target but now feel a bit deflated

Crikey purple how can a size 10 be overweight well done on getting so close to your goal, don't feel down!

Have to agree with everyone who is saying they feel less achey on this program.

My weight has stayed the same this week but three people have asked if I lost weight, scales suck.

I am planning to do the double...wish me luck!

Good results everyone! Size 10 overweight?? Never!! I have stayed same weight (which is fine, I maintaining) but lost half an inch from waist so I am chuffed with that x

Did a double today, then lay face down on carpet!

Good work everyone!

Did Abs interval today after a 30 minute run. I can do most of the exercises but I cannot see what the exercise is whilst on my hands and toes and looking at the floor so I do usually miss the first few seconds of each whilst I am looking at the TV!

If size 10 is overweight then I, at a size 16, is screwed!! I am not weighing or measuring myself but I can tell my clothes are fitting better - I now need to work to get them loose

Hey everyone - so good to see so many new joiners!

I feel for those with bad knees - Shaun T's workouts do seem to be very jumpy, so I would recommend Tony Horton's P90X for those with bad knees (plus low carb dieting). The only real cardio work out in P90X is Plyometrics and they do have modified moves for sore knee people, so would really work a lot better than Insanity or similar.

Newrule - good on you for keeping on pushing play for month 2 Insanity - I remember how fucking hard it was to get through to the end of the 59 minute work out when you're used to only having 20-something minutes post the stretchy bit of the month 1 work outs... but it does get easier.

Well, after starting Insanity over 7 months ago, I finally had a proper rest week (a week's holiday skiing with the DH and kids) from last Saturday until today. So have skied every day but not done any Insanity/runs (the longest break I have had off since starting in June 2014 is 2 days off in a row due to sickness/Xmas!)... so I have no idea how I am going to get back into it tomorrow now we're back from the mountains! Not only that, I have had a whole week off the diet as well - I've eaten pizza, biscuits, crisps, pasta, puddings!

Luckily my scales are on the blink and we can't afford to order the expensive fat-measuring ones until next pay day, so can't weigh myself for a month. Am hoping I can put right this week's wrongs by the time the new scales arrive from John Lewis in about 4 weeks time.

I have been maintaining around 51kg for about 3 months now, and can do pretty much do all the Insanity work outs without having to stop for more than about 3-4 seconds, if not all the workout without breaks, so I need to do something different to vary it up/improve and am using this week's break to reset I think.

So the plan is:

• will order Max Insanity 30 to up my game and get some more variety into the regime
• will reintroduce long runs - am going to do at least 1 x 10km and 1 x 15km run a week
• aim for 15% body fat, rather than my previous target of 50kg. No idea what my body fat it currently, but will be able to measure with my new scales in about a month's time
• All of the above, to be the lithest/fittest I can be by July 23rd when I will be dressing up as Princess Leia in a gold bikini...

P.S. Whoever said they wanted to be like Linda Hamilton, you should defo do P90X.

Hello everybody, it's great to see so many newcomers!

I've had a really good week. Nailed all my workouts, mostly enjoyed Friday with beta rip't circuit and speed 2.0.

Last week I bought myself a Fitbit flex and have been trying it out all this week. It's great at counting all the steps you do and calculating calories burnt. The only thing that disappointed me was the fact that it doesn't calculate the calories during the workouts, you have to enter them manually. Fitbit also links itself with MyFitnesspal making it very easy keeping track of exercise and nutrition.

Purple, what target weight have you set for yourself? I'm still not sure what target I should set myself... My scales haven't moved much in the last week or so but I can definitely see an improvement in the mirror. :)

Boobz, I'm actually starting to think like you that it's better concentrating on body fat loss rather than weight loss. You'll need to let us know how you get on with fitbit scales. I'm so jealous about your ski trip, sounds like heaven. Tut, tut, tut about all that food though ;) Only joking. Glad you had a fab time.

Got a very busy week ahead and on Friday we are going to a wedding so Friday and Saturday will have to be non exercise days. I'm planning to start the week tomorrow and distribute the rest of the workouts between Monday and Thursday.

Well done on your workouts everyone!

So, Max Cardio Conditioning and Insane Abs done - wasn't as horrendous as I thought it was going to be, given 7 days off, but it helped that DH did it with me (am always a bit competitive when we're doing it together).

Have had no carb brekkie of ham and eggs. Am attempting no carbs for 2 weeks as per the Times article I referenced above - to kick start the mission to 15% body fat.

Forgot to mention am giving up smoking today as well, which will obviously help my fitness, but won't help my appetite. Must be strong!

What's your target body fat % then Fullsteam - if you are switching to that instead of weight? And will you buy the same scales as me please so I can pit myself against you :)

Boobz, do you by any chance know if the article was published online or not, would love to read it in full.

I presume an average female has to aim for 15% body fat, anything lower than that could be dangerous as you obviously need some of it to support your body. At least thats the figure I've seen on most body fat calculators. Some of the very fit female athletes go down to about 12% but that's obviously an extreme.

I'm definitely planning to buy the scales as they would also link with my new Fitbit Flex, it'll be a little while yet though as they are quite expensive :(

A little concerned about the reviews though, lots of people having issues with the set up...

www.johnlewis.com/fitbit-aria-wi-fi-smart-bathroom-scale/p509608?colour=Black#tabinfo-ratings

Right guys, it's officially first day of Spring, hooray!!!!!!!!

I'm starting my week today and am doing Beta dynamic core :)

Also,

ATTENTION!!!

If anyone is interested in receiving an early birthday/Christmas present please pm me, that's all I can say on here ;)

Just done the stretching today - I love it! Feels so good.

Final week of Alpha starts tomorrow...eek!!

full steam I am intrigued....